facilitation

Pub Dialogues session 1.4

Congress and You Our 5th session of the Pub Dialogues will be held at Pints Pub and Freehouse July 16th (Monday) from 5:30 - 8pm.  We will be upstairs at reserved seating.The topic for this session is Congress; how are they doing?  How do you relate to Congress, and vice versa?  Is Congress doing enough? Are you doing enough?  This is a good opportunity to rethink our connection with our representatives, with each other, and perhaps with ourselves.   Let the ideas flow!

Behind the Dialogues: Part 4

The GoalThe Pub Dialogues series is our vehicle to highlight that open, honest and civil conversations are possible during difficult circumstances.  We hope people will see how disagreeing with someone does not prohibit discussion, conversation and dialogue.   Honest Dialogue is not easy; it takes time, effort and even some pain. However, the benefits are fantastic for those involved and, indirectly, the world at large.The Pub Dialogues aim to:

  • (Re-) Introduce interpersonal communication skills
  • Help people address contentious topics and understand differing view-points
  • Showcase how people with opposing view-points can engage in constructive conversation without reverting to debate and animosity
  • Bring awareness to the importance of open discussion and its salience with social, political and cultural issues
  • Entice people to have more conversations face-to-face in a civil and open manner (with local pubs and businesses in mind for the setting)
  • Offer an opportunity for people to learn from each other

We want to change the world.  Delusions of grandeur to be sure. Still, we follow a common platitude, ‘if you want to change the world, start with yourself’.  The practitioners at OvalOptions have taken this rather difficult first step.  While we are far from perfect, we turned the focus of conflict resolution skills on ourselves first to view firsthand the changes, understanding and personal development they afford.  Our dedication to these skills is strong, and our passion to avail them to others is resilient.  The Pub Dialogues series is one way we can share our skills with others, for free, and open to all.Part 1Part 2Part 3

Behind the Dialogues, Part 3

The PubThroughout the centuries, people have met at the local pub to discuss topics of importance. The founding fathers of the U.S. met in pubs to discuss the fate of the colonies, allegiance with Britain, and the desire for independence.  These pubs usually brewed their own beer, as did the founding fathers. During Prohibition, these pubs closed, brewing became a lost art, and the communal conversation forgotten.Thankfully, brewpubs are back.  They combine the comfort of the old pubs and the beer styles of a new generation of adventurous brew-masters.  Most of these establishments are small businesses, locally owned, and part of the community.  They make a profit from their passion, and their passion is to make and serve great beer—the social lubricant of the ages.The pub offers a relaxed atmosphere. Some have leather chairs and fireplaces. Others have outside or rooftop patios.  Some offer delicious meals and snacks.  Pubs are a night out, a place to meet people, people watch, and to have conversations.  As the theme song for the 1980s-90s sitcom, “Cheers”, states:

You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

The pub is a safe space where inhibitions are set loose, at least a bit.  And you just might learn something… Part 1Part 2Part 4

Behind the Dialogues...

Part 2: Peace Peace: Two definitions seem worlds apart:

  • the normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world. (dictionary.com)
  • harmony in personal relations (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Conversation, and the skills it requires, is important to peace. The first definition is incomplete if it does not include the second.  Is “non-war” peace?  For example, it is difficult to believe Syria and Israel maintain a peaceful condition just because their armies are not warring.Communication between possible belligerent nations is vital before unleashing the destructive apparatuses of war and warfare.  The United Nations is a governmental forum where nations can communicate about pressing issues as an effort to eliminate, or at least curtail, war. What about the people?Following the practices of John Paul Lederach and Harold Saunders, we believe that communication is complicated, multi-layered, fragile, and essential for peace, and begins on the personal level. Daily conversations, what we say, how we say it, the words we choose, our tone, to whom we are speaking, and the issues discussed are important in the personal realm as well as the international scene.An antagonistic conversation with someone tends to influence our overall view of that person, and others who share that person’s views.  We may conclude that someone who disagrees with us is an idiot or worse.  The idiot label taints whatever else that person, and those like them, says and does.  It takes effort to have this label removed.  Consequently, we shut down, do not listen to what people are saying, or understand their reasons.  As such, we close off the real possibility of learning something, not to mention coming across as rude (we won’t make many friends that way), and no one will listen to us.  If we ignore learning opportunities, then we fail to communicate, which is the key to overcoming disputes, and thus vital to harmony in personal relations.In today’s world, personal relations extend beyond borders. They are powerful tools for seeing that country as a non-enemy. As like us--human.  As such, we listen to them more, try to understand their perspectives, and wish to maintain or strengthen a relationship.Going from individual relational harmony to international peace may seem a stretch, but harming people we know is more difficult than harming those we do not. This starts with communication, and the skills it demands.Read Part 1 here

Pub Dialogues: Session 1.1

The second session of The Pub Dialogues series was held at Vine Street Pub on March 20th, 2012 (the first day of Spring!), from 6-9pm, in the annex room (Harry's).For this session we selected the topic "The State of Education".  On the presidential campaign trail the phrase 'education reform' has been uttered quite a bit.  Not much, however, has been discussed to clarify the term, what sort of reform, or even why reform seems necessary. We thought about "education reform" for this session's topic, however we felt that this is too directive--to talk only about reform when, perhaps, some people may not agree with reform and have other thoughts concerning education.  To be sure, reform was certainly open to conversation in this session, we just wished not to force it.We had a great time at Vine Street. People discussed topics within education from testing/exam philosophies and approaches, to school funding, to differences between standardization and standardized .  At the end of the formal session attendees were open to mingle and socialize, making new friends and continuing the discussions from the smaller groups.On tap were many delicious beers and Mountain Sun's famous Hop Vivant Imperial IPA made an appearance.

The Pub Dialogues

Out of the Chat Room, Into the PubThe Pub Dialogues is a series of discussions--free and open to the public--as an effort to bring people out of the cyber-world and back into the real-world to talk together on subjects of importance to society.  In the early days, people met at the Public House to discuss various topics; now-a-days they "meet" in chat rooms, online forums and social media websites.  The human element has been nullified and as such discussion, debate and dialogue have turned venomous, hurtful, nasty and just plain ineffective.  We want to bring people together so that they may discuss important topics like civil human beings; so that they may understand viewpoints outside of theirs; so that progress can be achieved; and so that new friends can be made.  The pub is perfect place. Just like in the old days a pub is a place of comfort and camaraderie. It's a place where people go to "go out"; where everybody knows your name.The format for these discussions is rather simple.  They will begin with participants remaining in a large group and our lead facilitator will open the session.  An introduction will take about 10 min. We will outline the topic, the ground rules, and answer questions.  The large group will then be split into several smaller groups, as these are more intimate and personal than one large group. Each group will be assigned a facilitator.  After about 1hour we will reconvene to the large group to share experiences, ideas, etc.Our goals:

  • To bring people out of cyber-space and meet their neighbors
  • To address important (and therefore most likely contentious) topics to allow for the public an opportunity to discover solutions
  • To help people understand the "other side" of a topic
  • To display tools of effective communication that have been lost in the Information Age
  • To encourage people to "get out" more and meet each other

The first session will be held in Mercantile Room at the Wynkoop brewpub in downtown Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 31st from 6:30-9pm. It's free, open to everybody of all ages.